Jefe is spanish for slow…
Have you ever heard of Johnny’s Beef? It’s a chain, but, from what I hear, still a must on any foodie’s bucket list. Late one night, my princess and I were cruising the wild streets of Elmwood Park looking for some grub. While foraging, we stumbled upon Johnny’s. So, what did we do? That’s right, we went to the taco joint across the street, Señor Jefe.
I ordered the steak, pork and chorizo tacos. And then I waited. And waited. And waited.
There weren’t even any other customers in there. I thought the Cubs would win a World Series before I got my tacos. But, they didn’t. I finally got them….AND?
Well, Señor Jefe is kind of hit or miss. Well, I guess actually hit, hit or miss. I really liked two of the tacos: the steak and the chorizo.
The steak is nicely cooked and has great grill flavor. It is well seasoned and just salty enough to distribute the flavor of the steak. The chunks of meat are kinda small, but it’s still a very good taco. It, and the other tacos, are topped with onions and cilantro. Simple, yet enough texture and flavor to please.
The chorizo taco is my favorite. It’s spicy, sweet and salty. They either make the chorizo on site, or get it freshly made for them. At any rate, it’s very clean tasting and very good. The paprika really stands out. I hate it when places use those chorizo tubes you get at the grocery store that just leak piggy juice all over the place. This, on the other hand, is legit.
My last taco was the pork. While it isn’t bad tasting, it’s just really bland and rather dry. You’ve heard the expression “dry as a bone”? Well, this would make bones envious. I’m not sure how that would work, but it’s true. Two out of three ain’t bad, though, right?
My only other nit-picky, taco diva advice for this place would be to serve the tacos on one tortilla instead of two. I don’t get why people double up on tortillas when it’s unnecessary. It takes away from the juiciness and overall flavor of the taco. Duh.
Boy, that lime taco looks deeeelish!
Ok, enough of Elmwood Park. Whatever that is.
On to the next stop:
- Location: 7446 W. North Ave., Elmwood Park, IL (Concordia University-ish)
- Tourists: Josh, Julia
- Tacos sampled: steak, pork, chorizo (also have beef, chicken and lengua)
- Toppings: onions and cilantro/lime; or lettuce, tomato, sour cream and chihuahua cheese
- Salsa: salsa rojo, salsa verde
- Extras: none
- Tortillas: corn or flour
- Atmosphere: slow, empty, small, slow, un-busy
- Price: $2.19/taco – also have jr. tacos for $1.29 each
- OVERALL RATING: 7.0
taco tourist 